Reclaiming tiles and costs

[flimflam]

I recently discovered that both of our wetrooms have been poorly installed. These were new rooms put into a new extension on an old house by a developer. The work is about 18-months/2 years old and we've been in for about 6 months (we're the first occupants). I think we're going to have to get them redone with proper tanking that the previous builders appear to have left out. The bathrooms are tiled all over with fairly large (600 x 300mm?) travertine tiles, we'd like to keep as many of these as possible since (i) we like them, (ii) they're expensive and (iii) they seem to be adequately installed in the non-wet areas e.g., round the bath. The shower floors are mosaic which we'll replace, we'll try to keep the fittings

Questions:

1: Is it possible and cost-effective to remove the travertine tiles and reuse them over the new tanking. If so, how can they be removes intact?

2: Does the developer or his builders have any liability for the poor quality of this work? The serious leaks make the showers unuseable after very little use.

3: Can anyone recommend a wetroom installer in central London?

4: Cash is fairly tight, would it reduce costs much to have me do some of the groundwork (removing existing fittings, replacing plasterboard/aquaboard). Is there anything that you would particularly recommend that an amateur like me does or doesn't handle?

 

[Gazzer]

Re Questions in order

1, Extremely doubtful to non starter.
2, Not really wanting to comment other that I would have thought you would have a case if they are not suitable for purpose.
3, Cant help with that one.
4, Quality comes at a price but I dont see why you couldnt strip out as long as you leave the new installer to do the prep work to a sufficient standard to meet the requirements.

 

[david campbell]

pretty much as the above,travertine doesn't come up well due to it being a soft stone the chances are you probably won't even get 1 tile intact with being large format,if the job isn't fit for use then you have a case.maybe you should contact the builder to see if he's willing to rectify the problem

 

[nybor62]

agree with both of the above,good luck

 

[nybor62]

there are far to many ,trades out there ,who may have the skill to fix tiles & make a decent finish , but dont under stand the prep work that is involved,resulting in far to many failures of the tiling under taken ,imo

 

[flimflam]

if the job isn't fit for use then you have a case.maybe you should contact the builder to see if he's willing to rectify the problem

I will try contacting them first, although I think they're such a bunch of bodgers that I'm reluctant to let them touch anything in my house ever again. I don't think that it will be a straightforward job to rectify it. In one of the rooms some of the shower floor tiles have come loose, which I'm trying to fix (see the sealing ply for wetroom floor thread). In the other room there seems to be a pretty well formed shower area but I don't think the sourrounding travertine floor has been tanked or grouted properly so water is just going round the shower area and through into the ceiling underneath

 

[Dan]

Grout isn't a barrier against water, cement-based grouts will absorb water and it will go behind the tiles. However you're right in thinking it should be tanked.

If you tried to go down a legal route you'd have had to give the builder a chance of rectifying the problems I think. However it's not for us to say legally, so you'd need to get advice on that from a legal specialist.

I'd consider getting a few quotes from tilers in your area and mention to them what the job entails before they call round so that you do get a tiler that has experience with tanking and wetrooms. Most have, you just want to check first though.

If you can source the tiles still, ask the tiler if he passes any of his trade discount onto you, you may find he passes it all on (though some don't pass any on like myself 😀) Some split it 50/50 or something.

I think it would help the price out a little if you undo all the fixings but let the tiler re-fix them if it includes drilling of the tiles which is an art of it's own.

You may find the builder subbed the tiling out to a tiler who isn't the same tiler they use now, so I'd seriously try to go down that route first of all.

 

[deno3]

where abouts in london are you flimflam

 

[flimflam]

SW11. I'm really keen to get a quote for both rooms, and to assess what can be done while leaving as much of the existing tiling in place as possible.